# side

By [meta](https://paragraph.com/@meta01) · 2022-07-16

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Energy stocks make up just 4.2% of the overall S&P 500, said Silverblatt, but if you remove them from the mix earnings across the index would likely fall by about 2% this quarter.

While war in the Ukraine and the related unpredictability hurt almost all sectors of the market, oil benefitted.

"The gains in energy follow a 'barbell' motif -- there's strength on both ends," wrote Sam Stovall of CFRA.

On the upstream side, West Texas Intermediate oil, the US benchmark, averaged almost $109 per barrel in the second quarter, up 65% year-over-year. On the other end, wallet-busting gas prices at the pump gave consumer-facing companies like Exxon a boost. 

This single-sector heroism isn't unheard of during economic downturns. 

In the second quarter of 2020, Big Tech did the heavy lifting.

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*Originally published on [meta](https://paragraph.com/@meta01/side)*